Dangerous Games
by Moksgmol
Summary: On a routine visit to question a suspect things go south, leaving Jane and Lisbon miles from anything with a murderer and his accomplice hunting them down. To make matters worse Lisbon's been drugged and they have no way of contacting the team.
1. Chapter 1

Lisbon pulled the black SUV up to the house, parking it on the dusty driveway and turning in her seat to face Jane.

'Kinda dilapidated, isn't it?'

Jane shrugged, shooting her a smile, 'It's quaint, I think.'

Lisbon grunted, popping open her door and jumping out. Jane kept his grin in place and watched as she walked up to the residence. They had driven for hours through the desert to reach it and Lisbon was cranky from the long drive. She was going to be even more upset if this suspect turned out to be a bust.

Jane caught up to Lisbon just as the front door was answered and she flashed her badge, "CBI, sir. Are you Mr. Alexander Roy?"

The man squinted at her from under his scruffy brown hair, "Yes. What can I do for you?"

"Can we come in and ask you a few questions, sir?"

"About?"

Jane felt Lisbon's frustration grow and decided to step in, "Mr. Roy, my name is Patrick Jane, and we really only have one question for you, if you don't mind. We can even stay out here on the porch if you'd like."

Lisbon glared daggers at Jane but he ignored her, keeping his gaze instead on the person in front of them. The man nodded slowly after a moment.

"Why don't you two come in instead and I'll make you a tea; I'm sure that you've been travelling for a while to get here."

If possible, Jane's dazzling grin became even wider, 'That would be wonderful."

Lisbon just rolled her eyes as she followed Jane into the house.

--

They sat in the surprisingly bare living room until their suspect returned, a tray with three steaming cups in hand. Jane let him pass out the drinks before he started.

'Thank you, Mr. Roy. Now, did you or did you not kill a Mr. Ronald Ames?'

There was a long moment of silence, the expressions on everyone's faces seemingly frozen in time.

Jane finally broke it, "Well, that's it then Lisbon, we're good to go. He didn't do it; he's harmless."

She whipped her head up towards him, "What? How are you sure?"

"I just am. Now let's get going; we've got a fair drive back."

She sighed, biting back a retort. If she was honest with herself she was sure that he was right and really didn't feel like driving back in the dark. She'd let him win without having to explain himself or find proof for once.

"_Fine_. Thank you for your time, Mr. Roy."

They had just reached the door when a voice behind them made them pause.

"You're wrong."

Teresa turned back around, "I'm sorry?"

Roy was glaring at them, a scowl on his lips, "I'm not harmless, Mr. Jane. And I'm not letting you leave only to show back up on my step with cuffs."

"What?" Jane questioned, brows furrowing, honestly confused.

'_I'm_ the killer, you idiots! And there's no way you're leaving here feeling that you've tricked me into thinking that I'm safe!' and he lunged forward, grabbing Lisbon in a headlock before she had time to react. Jane called her name as she was spun, her back to the other man's front, his arm tightly around her neck. Jane was just beginning to move forward when Roy pulled out something that made him stop cold.

He had a needle poised over Lisbon's neck.

Jane's attention was drawn by Lisbon suddenly tensing, readying herself to get out of the man's grip.

'Teresa, no!" Jane cried, trying to prevent her from making things worse.

He was too late, however; she twisted in Roy's grip and the man didn't hesitate, locking her tighter against him and plunging the syringe into her neck.

Lisbon let out a cry of surprise and Jane launched himself forward, knocking into both of them. All three tumbled to the ground, Lisbon's gun, which she had drawn at some point during the fall, skittering away across the floor. There was a scramble for the weapon, all of them kicking and wrestling. Lisbon made the connection that Jane was closer to her weapon than she, and after making eye contact with him she spun, her fist meeting Roy's face, making the man shout and recoil in surprise. Jane used the moment to lunge forward and grab Lisbon's gun, spinning back around and hitting the murderer over the head with it as hard as he could.

Roy went limp; the room fell silent, the only sound heavy breathing.

Lisbon crawled over to the unconscious man, reaching to check his pulse and looking to Jane, "You okay?"

"Yeah," he wheezed out, still trying to refill his lungs, "You?"

"I'm okay."

"Bullshit," Jane puffed, "How about your neck?"

She reached up absently, wincing as her fingers found the spot she'd been punctured, "I think that it's still in there."

He shifted to his hands and knees, moving over to her and bringing his hand up to her neck. He easily found the broken piece, pinching it between his fingers and pulling it out. She clamped her teeth down on her bottom lip to hold in a gasp and his thumb pressed down on the spot to stop the bleeding.

"Hurts?"

"Not too bad," she answered through clenched teeth.

He used his other hand to tilt her chin up so he could meet her eyes, "Your lip is bleeding because you just bit it so hard."

She huffed, "Fine, it stung a little. It still bleeding?"

He smiled at her doggedness, "Nah, I think that you'll survive."

"Cool. He's out cold; let's get some help and get out of here," she pulled her phone out of her pocket and frowned at it, "I have no signal. You?"

He dug his cell out of his pocket, "No… land line?"

"He cut it… didn't you notice that when we came in?"

Jane stared at her blankly.

She almost laughed at his face, "Huh. Score one for me."

He smirked, "Too bad I'm already beating you by a million or so."

She playfully scoffed at him and he rose, reaching down a hand to help her up. She stood shakily and held onto his arm once she was up, steadying herself. He watched her, concerned, but she was too busy trying to get over the spinning of the room to notice. He chose not to ask how she was; he knew what her answer would be.

She suddenly stepped away from him, taking the lead as though to reaffirm that she was alright. "Let's go get the car, see if we can't get a signal a little ways down the road."

He followed her out, watching her carefully placed footsteps and ready to catch her should she stumble. They reached the car to find the tires slashed; both phones were still useless.

"Someone else is out there," Lisbon whispered to him, eyes sweeping the trees. Jane nodded, waiting for her to decide their next course of action. She reached a hand down to her hip, making sure that her gun was firmly back in place, "let's walk a ways. See if we can't get anywhere useful."

He placidly followed her, trying to focus on whether or not someone was about to come leaping out at them but finding it hard to concentrate on anything but the woman in front of him. She seemed to be okay at the current moment, albeit a tad shaken, but he knew that whatever she'd been injected with wasn't going to have good results. To make matters worse it looked like Alexander Roy was a murderer with an accomplice and a plan. Jane was most certainly a betting man and he knew one thing for sure; he wouldn't put a dime on their odds had he been an outsider.

As it was he was hoping like hell that the underdogs were going to win.

_There! First chapter up (maybe a tad messy but I wanted to post it before heading to bed). I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at a continuous story for this show; hopefully it works out well. Reviews would be great!_

_Ciao ciao, Moksgmol_

_PS For anyone wondering, yes the title was inspired by the short story 'The Most Dangerous Game.'_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist or any of the associated characters or ideas. Also, this fanfic or any part of it is not to be used on any other site or linked to without the permission of the author. I'll more than likely say yes; I just want to know where my work is being posted and be sure that I am the one receiving credit for my work. Thank you for your cooperation and consideration  
_


	2. Chapter 2

They made their way up the driveway, twilight fading into darkness around them; the sun had set while they were inside Roy's house. Lisbon was still in front of Jane, trooping forward with determination, but he could see that her strength was waning. To the casual observer she may have seemed fine but to Jane's practiced eyes it was obvious in the slight hesitation before she placed her unsteady feet; the way she kept her arms crossed so she could tuck her hands under her armpits to prevent them from trembling; and the way that her cheeks were an unnatural, delicate shade of pink that Jane had never seen on her features that told him all was not well.

She had begun to breathe a little harder and though Jane was too he attributed his to his lack of athleticism and hers to some kind of strange side-effect of the injection she'd been given. He was so intently watching her and settled into the silence they had fallen into that he jumped a little when she broke it.

"How long is this damn driveway? I don't remember it being this far in the car."

"You must have been driving too quickly for once," Jane responded automatically, pushing her buttons without thought. She scoffed in return and they dropped back into silence; Jane was pretty sure that she hadn't responded with more wit because she didn't have the energy. Her words had slurred together as though she were drunk, the only spaces between them placed by her harsh little pants for air. While this was alarming in itself what concerned Jane more was the fact that she hadn't noticed how she had been speaking.

He didn't have time to dwell on that, though; she stumbled, her feet tangling together and causing her to fall. He acted instinctively, leaping forward to catch her by the elbow and hip, hauling her forcefully back up to her feet before she could build enough momentum to bring them both down. Her arms flung back when he first grabbed her, automatically pushing away his help. She succumbed when he got her up, leaning back against him, just closing her eyes and breathing hard. He could feel that she was quivering; her skin was warm and flushed, sweaty against him. He wrapped one arm around her waist and brought his other hand up to rest on her forehead before running it through her hair. She sighed at the coolness of his hand on her warm skin and the tingling feeling his passing fingers left along her scalp.

He leaned down to murmur in her ear, "Dizzy?"

She kept her eyes closed, "m'fine, Jane."

He just gave a non-committal hum, not wanting to argue with her and rile her up; he needed her to be as strong as possible if they were going to make it out of this alive. She pushed off of him at that point and he did his best to let her go, allowing his hands slip off of her, staying close enough to catch her but still giving her the space he knew she needed.

"You sure you ready to get going again?"

"_Yes_, Jane; let's get going," Jane smiled to himself; he knew that she needed to be able to feed off of him, to feel a little agitated to be able to carry on.

He followed along in her wake, noting that their pace was much slower than before. He watched her careful steps, shadowing her every move, and so it was her that noticed what he did not.

"There's the road," the relief in her voice was palpable. If it wasn't, her empathetic sigh of, "thank god," certainly was.

He smiled as they walked up the end of the driveway and stepped on the asphalt. Jane was so wrapped up in enjoying the happy expression on her face that he almost missed the car that was racing towards them. The driver clearly hadn't seen them as they had just stepped up out of the ditch and onto the dark rural road. Jane's head whipped around to see that the driver wasn't even watching the road, was instead rooting around for something in the passenger seat; he clearly didn't expect to run into anyone at this hour. Jane grabbed Lisbon and yanked her back, ignoring her startled gasp of surprise and pain. The fell into the ditch, the car passing in front of them without harm, the driver not even noticing his near miss.

Jane chuckled at their luck and at himself; he'd been so wrapped up in her that he didn't even notice a _car_ coming at him. Some mentalist he was! He pulled himself up out of the gully to check that the coast was now clear, turning back to make a joke to Lisbon.

He stopped cold at the sight of her body, limp and still in the bottom of the ditch. After a moment of frozen terror he was racing towards her, almost falling in his haste, hands grabbing at grass and dirt in an attempt to steady his mad rush. He stumbled to a stop beside her unconscious form, his hands hovering over her, hesitant and unsure as to what to do with her. He settled for turning her over, reaching a hand to find the pulse at her neck and leaning an ear to her mouth to listen to her breathing. He was reassured to find a steady pulse; her erratic breathing had him worried but he was happy that she was at least moving air. He shook her shoulder, "C'mon Lisbon, wake up for me."

She didn't comply and he decided to haul her up out of the dike, trying his best to be gentle. The terrain was steep and her dead weight wasn't conducive to that; he'd have to hope that she wouldn't mind the bruises. He was pretty sure that she wouldn't. Once he got her up onto the roadside he laid her out again, rechecking that she was still with him and merely out cold. Pleased to find that at least he lifted her as best he could, knowing that he had a ways yet to travel down the road before he could find her any help. He had just begun walking when there was the sound of a shot and something raced through the air directly in front of him. He could feel the whoosh of air from what he suspected was a passing bullet.

"Oh, _crap_."

_So sorry that took so long! I kept playing with it and then I ended up straying from my original idea, etc. I like where it's going now but I need to put a little bit more thought into planning it before I work myself into a hole that I can't find a way out of, haha. And I'm not sure about my action-skills as of yet; I'm a lot more comfortable with character studies and one-shots. Your feedback was really great though and I'm looking forward to more. I plan on updating sometime next week as I'm at an archaeology project all weekend, but I'll keep thinking about this fic idea-wise at least even when I'm wading through the bushes, haha._

_Ciao, Moksgmol_


	3. Chapter 3

Jane froze in the silence that followed the gunshot, unsure of what to do. Put down Lisbon and get ready to fight? Keep hold of her and get ready to run? Yeah, right... like he could outrun a bullet.

A crunching sound to his left drew his attention; his head whipped toward it, body following the motion. A man was stepping out of the bushes with a gun trained on the pair.

"Hold still so I won't miss this time."

"Mr Roy, I assume?"

The man paused, frowning at Jane, "What?"

Jane shifted Lisbon slightly in his arms, trying for a better purchase on her in case he had to run, "You. You're name; Mr Roy, right?"

The man responded with a slow, drawn-out, "Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Well you _are_ threatening to shoot me. I'd like to at least have _some_ formalities taken care of before that. I'm sure that you're not completely uncivilized."

The other man stared at Jane, dumfounded; the gun was still up but the bearer's grip had slackened ever so slightly.

"Now look, you're Alex's brother, right?" at a nod Jane continued, "First name?"

"Uh, Jim."

"Ah. Now Jim, I presume that it was you who slashed our tires?" the man bobbed his head up and down, "And was it your or Alex who suggested to cut the phone line?"

"Him."

"The older sibling always has that little bit of power, don't they?"

The man scowled defensively, "It was a good idea. Why wouldn't I go along with it?"

"Oh, sure; that's always how they spin things. Everything that they want to do is a great idea. Alex always gets his way, doesn't he?"

"Well, yeah, I guess, but-"

Jane cut Jim off with a cluck of his tongue, "He has you really whipped, doesn't he?"

The grip on the gun was tight again, "I know what you're doin'! You're trying to get us to split apart so you can take us both down."

Jane scoffed, "And how am I going to 'take you both down'? Lisbon surely could have but you're already dealt with her, so no problems there. Here I am now, standing with her in my arms, completely defenseless at your gunpoint. I sincerely doubt that I'm going to fight my way out of this. I'm not a superhero or something."

Jim was squinting at Jane, trying to make sense of what he had said, when Jane made his move. When he had repositioned Lisbon earlier it had been to cover one hand, which was now holding his cell phone. He tossed the cell from behind his back to the side were it crashed through the underbrush, drawing Jim's gaze. He dropped Libson, silently pleading with her to forgive him for doing so and trying to ignore the painful-sounding wumph of her body making contact with the ground.

Jim looked back towards the pair at the second noise, his weapon repositioning on them, but was too late: Jane hit him with a tackle that he was sure Libson would have been proud of. The two tussled on the ground - Jane feeling an odd sense of deja vu - for several tiring minutes before Jim got the upper hand and pinned Jane beneath him. One hand went to the consultant's throat to hold him in place; the other began blindly searching for its owner's gun.

"You're right; you aren't going to be getting away from th-"

Jane flinched at a deafening bang. Jim went limp and fell onto him, knocking the breath from his lungs. Jane reached up to push the loose hand away from his neck before shoving the other man off of him. He rolled over, not yet sure about standing, to see Lisbon - looking wobbly even on her hands and knees - with her weapon still raised.

Her gaze met his held for a moment before her eyes slipped shut again and she fell forward into the dirt. He crawled to her, his breath raspy and panting, reaching out to find her pulse when he reached her.

He sighed when he found it, rolling her gently onto her back and pulling her up onto his lap, her head flopping back onto his shoulder. He scooted them both up against a tree before fumbling through her pockets for her phone. He found it and flipped it open: there was a signal! Jane wanted to leap up and dance but settled instead for giving Lisbon's limp form a squeeze and dialing Cho's number.

"Cho."

"Have I ever told you just how much I love your voice?"

"Jane?"

"Yep."

"What do you need?"

"A ride."

"Lisbon finally do the right thing and leave you someplace? Because I'm not sure that she has the wrong idea there."

"She's right here."

"You guys run out of gas or something?" there was a hint of confusion in Cho's voice.

"No; our tires got slashed."

"I thought that you were just interviewing a suspect," there was a definite tone of concern coming through on Cho's end now.

"We were… he's guilty."

There was a pause. Cho was apparently no longer in the mood for Jane's games.

"He attacked us; he's drugged Lisbon with something and she's out cold on my lap. She managed to shoot the suspect's brother for the brief moment she was just awake, though; hell of a shot even when she's not totally with it."

"Where are you?"

"The woods."

"Jane! We don't have time to screw around!"

"Wow, emotion from the stoic Kimball Cho," Jane drawled, "Get Van Pelt to just trace Lisbon's cell. Or mine for that matter. Just don't send the cops."

"Why? They're way closer to you than us. We might be hours yet."

"Then drive fast. If you send a bunch of bumbling uniforms in here we'll be dead; our suspect is probably up by now and looking for us. Any sniff of a cop and we're done for. Then we'll never close the case and Lisbon will be pissed at us when she wakes up."

"Fine, Jane, have it your way. But if anything happens to her-"

"It won't."

"Be sure that it doesn't," Cho's voice softened a little, "You both had better get back here safe. We'll be there as quick as we can."

"Good," Jane sighed after the phone clicked off. He knew that he shouldn't have acted that way with Cho but his head was pounding and he was exhausted. He settled back a little bit more into the tree, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth of Lisbon's body against his own.

_There you go! Hope that the wait wasn't too terrible; it's been a really busy couple of weeks. Thanks for all of the reviews: they're fantastic and I look forward to any more that you so graciously send my way. Ebony10: Forensic anthropology is a practical branch off of physical anthropology. I would love to do repatriation work with war victims, first peoples, etc. but I wouldn't mind working for the local coroners' service either. Basically id-ing people using their bones. I haven't done too much in the field but I have organized some collections. So cool. _

_Love, Moksgmol_

_PS: Please allow me my glaring liberties taken for the sake of drama. Obviously they would call the local pd. I swear, one of these days I will write a long, properly thought out fic with no plot holes. Until then I'm going to keep writing chapters like this ,haha._


	4. Chapter 4

Jane held a silent vigil over Lisbon for hours while they waited for the team to arrive. He wasn't normally a flighty person but every noise seemed a danger; every shadow an attacker. He tried to calm himself by running his fingers through Lisbon's hair and listening to her gentle breathing, but neither distraction helped when there eventually was a real noise; Jane startled so badly he was surprised that he didn't dump Lisbon off of his lap.

Someone was crashing through the bushes.

He gripped Lisbon tighter, readying himself as silently as possible should they need to run. He relaxed at the whispered sound of his name, calling back to Cho at an equally silent volume. The agent poked his head around a tree to the duo's left, rushing forward when he saw them resting against the base of a tree. He crouched in front of them, reaching forward a hand to Lisbon's neck to feel for her pulse.

His dark eyes moved to meet Jane's, "How is she?"

The consultant shrugged in response, "The same since I called you… she hasn't stirred but she's breathing just fine."

Cho nodded in response, "Let's get going then. I'll get Rigsby and Van Pelt; you go get Lisbon into the vehicle."

He then took Lisbon from Jane, balancing her against him on one arm once he'd risen and offering the other to Jane. The man gratefully accepted it, wincing as he stood and stretched his tired muscles out. He reached for Lisbon but Cho shook his head.

"I'll carry her for a minute, man; you look pretty sore."

Jane nodded in thanks and followed the other man toward the road. Cho was still supporting Lisbon on one arm, his other resting on the weapon at his waist. They stepped out of the woods and Jane gave a sigh of relief at the sight of the CBI vehicle before grabbing Cho's elbow.

"Stop."

"What?"

"Something's not right."

Cho frowned at him but drew his gun nonetheless. They stood in silence, both scouring their surroundings.

Jane shook his head, "Just can't put my finger on it..."

Cho shrugged, "Well, lets get you and Lisbon into the car. You can think about it there while I round up the other two."

Jane nodded and followed Cho to the SUV, still glancing around. They made it without incident and Jane opened one of the back doors.

"_Shit_," came the vehement curse from Cho.

Rigsby was tied up on the seat, unconscious, likely due to the large bump on his temple. Cho shoved Lisbon at Jane, whirling to face the dark woods, gun raised.

"Where are you?" Jane shouted into the dark, holding Lisbon awkwardly under her arms. He tried to pull her up into a more comfortable position for both of them, "We've found Rigsby; where's Van Pelt?"

"Right here," came a voice from the darkness. There was a rustle and Grace stepped out of the woods, Alex behind her and pressing a gun into her back. "I'm not too pleased with what you've done to my brother, Mr Jane."

Jane poked his head over Cho's shoulder, doing his best to hide both him and his boss behind the agent, "And I'm not too happy with what you've done to Lisbon. Or to Risgby or and Van Pelt for that matter."

Alex chuckled, "But I ain't killed any of them... yet."

Cho broke in at this point, "And let's try and keep it that way, yeah? How about you just put the gun down and let Agent Van Pelt go?"

"What, so you can shoot me? Don't think so," he growled, pushing his weapon further into his captive. Van Pelt gritted her teeth, more annoyed that she'd gotten herself trapped than fearful.

"I'm sure that we'd all like this to end without any further incident, right? So what can I do for you to get us all somewhere nicer, sir?" Cho peaceably questioned.

"Give me the car."

"I'm sorry?"

"I said give me your car. Haul that stupid oaf of an agent out of there and then you can all stand back while I drive your vehicle away. And you can hand me your phones so I can have a nice and big head start."

Cho frowned from behind his gun, and opened his mouth to respond. Jane cut him off with a sharp poke from behind.

"Sure, Mr. Roy. Car's all yours," Jane reached into his pocket and tossed a set of keys to the man, "Cho, you want to pull Rigsby out of the car?"

Cho looked at Jane, incredulous; Jane gave him an amiable smiled and a nod, "Go on."

The agent rolled his eyes, "How about I keep an eye on the man who has a gun on Grace and _you_ pull Rigbsy out of the car?"

It was Jane's turn to roll his eyes, "Because I have Lisbon. You know, I'm thinking that way too many of us are incapacitated to be convenient at the moment."

Cho snorted before moving to the side, gun still trained on Alex, and reaching out to drag Rigsby out of the SUV by an ankle. The man hit the ground with a thump and started to stir, groaning. Jane set Lisbon on the ground behind Cho and pulled Rigsby away from the vehicle before moving back to retrieve Lisbon; Alex watched, silent and beady-eyed.

Jane stood up after having placed both of his charges in the dirt a safe distance away, "Well, there you are, Mr. Roy. Car's all yours. We just need Grace back, now, if you don't mind."

The man didn't respond but moved forward, shoving Grace along in front of him. They had almost reached the two when Alex raised his gun and Grace made her move. She ducked slightly, pulling away to spin and attack her captor, but the man was too fast. His butt of his gun was up in a flash and he hit her across the temple with it. She fell away, dazed. Cho leapt to catch her and Alex jumped into the car, giving them one last curse over his shoulder before he drove away and left them stranded.

_There ya go; hope that you enjoyed! I was going to leave you with Grace still as a hostage, but this seemed less cliffy. Thanks for all of your great reviews; more are always appreciated! Next bit up as soon as I can._

_Love, Moksgmol_


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm fine, I'm okay!" Grace insisted, trying to shove Cho's hands away.

"Van Pelt-" Cho started but she pushed back again, scooting around him to bend down next to Rigsby. The big agent was just opening his eyes.

"Grace?" he questioned, squinting through a headache.

"Yeah," she breathed, relieved, "You okay?"

He grunted in response, pulling himself into a sitting position. Her hands fluttered around him, unsure of how to help. Cho rolled his eyes at the two before turning to Jane.

"Our cellphones?"

Jane faced him with a smile, "What about them?"

"You let him go because we got to keep our phones."

"Nope, but good try. Still no signal, but maybe we'll find one. We have Grace to thank for us still having them. She distracted him into leaving rather hastily, albeit with her head. Maybe not her most eloquent move, but I'll admit that it was effective."

"Then what, Jane? Because as far as I see it we're stranded."

Jane shrugged, "A little."

Cho bit the inside of his lip in irritation, "And do you have a plan to get us 'a little' unstranded?"

Jane gave his colleague his best thousand-watt grin, "We walk."

Cho's eyes darkened and Jane decided to answer before the normally calm agent decided to do something rash... shooting him didn't seem like a far-off possibility judging by the look on his face and Jane felt as though he had been shot at enough for one evening.

"Look, at least the murderer's gone, and he won't be getting too far in that car: I stuck a pocketknife into his back tire."

"You what? Where did you get a knife, Jane?"

"Eh, I picked it up at his house."

"You a klepto now?"

"I would have put it back but the man came at us with a gun… it just didn't seem the right time to take a minute to put it back down. Long story short he'll get far enough away from us to not be a problem but he'll still be stranded before he can make his escape from the local pd. We just need to walk down to his house. Once we're there we'll see what we can find, yeah?"

Cho made a noise deep in his throat, somewhere between impressed and annoyed, "Fine, let's get going. You lead the way; I'll get Lisbon. Let's move you two."

Van Pelt scrambled to her feet at Cho's last sentence, reaching down a hand to pull Rigsby up. He rubbed his head once on his feet but seemed no worse for the wear; he shot Grace a reassuring smile before the set off after the other three.

--

They reached the house without incident; Jane stood on the porch holding Lisbon while the other swept the house. She was still unconscious and it worried him; a hand to her forehead made him frown. She was awfully warm. Cho appeared at the front door after a moment and helped Jane carry Lisbon and had him lay her on a couch. Rigsby and Van Pelt were in the room as well, off to one side, Rigsby fussing over the gash on Grace's forehead.

"Really, it's fine," she mumbled, gently removing his hands before turning to the others, "What now?"

"We've got to get Lisbon to a hospital. She's been down for way too long," Jane put in.

Cho nodded in approval, "Van Pelt, go and check if there's a computer you can get up and running. Since we have no landline I want you outside and trying to pick up a signal, Rigsby."

The two nodded and set out to complete their respective tasks, Cho turning to Lisbon, "She's trembling and way too hot, Jane. Can you go get a wet cloth from the bathroom? I want to get her fever down."

The consultant was almost out of the room when he heard a sudden movement behind him. He whirled around just in time to see Lisbon jerk upright and lean over the side of the couch, emptying her stomach. Cho's supportive hands caught her just in time to prevent her from tumbling off the sofa and the agent turned, shouting, "GO, Jane! Now!"

The man broke out of his reverie, racing to the bathroom and returning with several wet and dry towels. He returned, heart pounding, to find Cho repositioning Lisbon on her side.

Cho shot him a glance, accepting the cloths, "She didn't really wake up; just vomited a few times before going limp again. He didn't say what he'd given her?"

Jane shook his head.

Cho gave a grunt, "Just as well she gets it out of her system."

The two stared down at their boss as she shivered and sweated on the couch, feeling helpless until Rigsby burst back into the room at almost the same time as Van Pelt.

"I got a signal: ambulance is on its way!"

"And I found everything we need to convict Alex Roy and his brother in his computer files... we just need some forensics guys in here to confirm!"

Cho opened his mouth to respond when Jane interrupted him, "Lisbon!"

The consultant leapt to her side, pulling back her hair as she began throwing up for the second time. She choked on the bile, coughing and shuddering in his arms. Grace, wide-eyed, picked up the cold compress that had fallen onto the couch cushions and handed it to Jane. He took it with a quick look of thanks before using it to gently clean Lisbon's mouth once she'd finished. He moved on to the couch so he was holding her from behind. She seemed semi-conscious and he gave her a squeeze, hoping to comfort her.

Jane looked up at Rigbsy, keeping his voice calm, "How long for the ambulance?"

He shrugged, anxious, "Maybe five minutes now?"

Van Pelt knelt down in front of Lisbon, pulling the tie out of her own hair and using it to pull back her boss'. She then used a hand to cup her cheek, trying to catch the woman's eye, "Boss?"

Lisbon didn't respond, half-lidded eyes glazed and downcast. Grace bit her lip, concern plain on her face.

When the ambulance pulled up five minutes later Lisbon's eyes had slipped shut and her breathing had stopped.

_Okay, I am sooooo sorry that this took so long! Summer got out of hand and I've been surprisingly busy. Hope that you enjoyed this chapter and that you haven't lost interest in this story. I plan on getting updates in a little more regularly. And I'd like to start a fic about Rigsby and Van Pelt but I promise that I won't let myself do it until this is complete. And I really want to write it so maybe it'll make me move a little faster on this! And on a completely irrelevant side note, happy birthday to me Twenty today, which seems much more adult somehow, haha. Love, Moksgmol_


	6. Chapter 6

Jane was too busy staring dumbly at the paramedics to jump into the ambulance after them; by the time he realized what was happening the doors to the rig were closing and much as he wanted to ride with them there was no way in hell he was going to hold them up. He spun around, grabbing Cho and pulling him toward a cruiser.

"Let's go!"

Rigsby and Van Pelt were hot on their heels. Grace had the sense to find a free officer, dragging him along in their wake. The officer refused to hand them his keys, insisting that he had to stay on sceen and that he needed his vehicle. Rigbsy loomed over him, looking his most intimidating, and very calmly laid out the situation to him. The man met them halfway, directing them towards the next ambulance and promising to drive them himself should they not find a ride.

Rigbsy growled, shoving his way past the man roughly, the other three following unapologetically in his wake. Jane easily smooth-talked the driver of the ambulance into letting them all ride.

The trip was long, the rig bouncing over the road it raced along. The paramedic tried to attend to Rigbsy but he brushed him off, forcing him to look at Van Pelt first. The man quickly patched her forehead and turned back to Rigbsy.

While that was happening Cho and Jane were silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Both refused treatment; they were too busy focussing on Lisbon to worry about bruises.

The ambulance pulled up and had barely stopped when Jane pushed past the others and leapt out the back. He shoved through the entrance and skidded to a halt at the admit desk, his colleagues directly behind him, stopping just as shortly.

"Agent Teresa Lisbon. She would have arrived in the ambulance just before us. Where is she?"

The admitting nurse nodded in recognition; the small hospital was between two little towns and as such did not receive much traffic, "Just down the hall is a waiting room. I'll send someone down to speak with you as soon as I can."

Jane leaned forward, about to tell her that her answer just wasn't good enough; Cho reached forward a hand, giving a firm tug on his shoulder to straighten him up.

He bit his tongue for a moment, just watching the woman, before saying quietly, "Just make sure they know her name."

The woman bobbed her head up ad down, softly responding, "Teresa. I'll let them know."

Jane nodded in approval before letting the others lead him down to the waiting area. Van Pelt dissapeared, Rigbsy trailing, once they'd reached the room. She returned, the bigger agent by her side this time, with three coffees and a tea. She knew that it wasn't prepared the way Jane liked and so did he but the consultant downed the drink anyways, the hot liquid scalding his throat.

"She'll be fine," Rigbsy muttered, both to himself and the others. Van Pelt settled beside him with a nod, clasping her paper cup tightly between her hands. Neither Cho nor Jane responded.

The nurse appeared within half an hour, a doctor trailing behind her. The man offered them a small smile, quirking up one side of his lips.

"She's alright for now."

Van Pelt gave an audible sigh of relief; Rigsby grinned and patted her leg with his hand. Cho remained stoic and Jane stood up to address the doctor.

"For now?"

The man shrugged, "We've done all we can but she's been given quite the cocktail of drugs. Looks like a mixture of a chloroform- and ruphynol-based mix but we're still waiting on a full toxology workup. For now she's stable. They got her back in the ambulance, thankfully. Since she wasn't down very long we don't expect that there's been any brain damage but we won't know for certain until she wakes up. She's breathing on her own but we're giving her extra oxygen for now."

"Can we see her?"

The doctor nodded, "Of course. Keep in mind that she's resting and should stay that way. We don't expect her up for some time. Even if she does wake she probably won't make much sense."

The four nodded and followed him to Lisbon's room. He left them outside the door and bid them goodnight.

"I'll be back in the morning to check up on her but my pager will be on all night. I can be contacted if need be. And I'll be sure to have the nurse bring around for pain medication should any of you want some. I would recommend taking it; you all look a little rough."

With one last smile for the four he was off, leaving them standing outside their boss' hospital room door.

Jane seemed frozen so Cho led the way, pushing open the door. The others all filed in after him, silent. Lisbon was lying in the hospital bed in front of them, pale and still. There was a mask covering most of her face; Jane noted with relief that it gently fogged everytime she breathed out. A nurse appeared at that moment, forcing them all into taking ibuprofin and setting up cots and chairs for them, tellling them firmly to al get some sleep before morning came and brooking no argument.

The four lay in silence, all but Jane dropping off relatively quickly. He was content to watch Lisbon for a time, relaxing into couch cushions that he wished were a brown leather rather than a scratchy polyester. After a time he relaxed, allowing the pain medication and the gentle sounds of Lisbon and the others to lull him into sleep.

_I'm so sorry that this took so long! I've been so busy helping my folks with the yard/house and work that I just haven't had the time. The next chapter is written though, so it should be up tomorrow once I have it edited. Hope that the wait was worth it and thanks for all of your wonderful reviews!_

_Ciao loves, Moksgmol_


	7. Chapter 7

Jane woke to a dark room and the steady sound of breathing. He checked his watch: two in the morning. The next thing his gaze fell on was the hospital bed in the room and its occupant, who was currently moving about under her covers. He leapt up from the couch he'd dozed off on and went to her, reaching out a hand for her shoulder. Her head turned to him; her eyes were glazed and her limbs were moving slowly and seemingly without purpose.

"Jane?" her voice was rough and slurred.

"I'm here," he replied softly, reaching out a gentle hand to cup her cheek; his thumb began to rub back and forth under her eye.

"Oh,'" she breathed softly, gaze shifting about the room.

Silence reigned for a while before Jane broke it, "Are you in pain?"

She didn't respond, looking instead at the couch Jane had just vacated.

"Lisbon," her head lolled toward him, eyes still unfoccused, "Do you know what happened?"

She frowned, "That's not your couch. Nope."

He wasn't sure what to make of that, "Pain medication that good, hey?"

But she had drifted off again before he had the chance to finish his question. He smiled to himself, brushing across her cheek one last time before heading back over to the couch and settling on it, spending the rest of the time before sunrise watching Lisbon and, to a much lesser degree, his other teammates.

Jane stretched and rose with the first streaks of dawn, making his way down to the hospital's cafeteria to round up some breakfast and coffee for the other three. He returned to find Van Pelt up but looking a little tousled; Rigsby was still out cold beside her.

"Where's Cho?"

A hand flew to her chest, "Oh! Jane, you startled me! He's just headed to the bathroom, I think."

"Ah. Here you go, then."

She accepted his offer of coffee with a grateful smile. Cho returned just as Rigsby was waking and after eating the four spent the morning in companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Lisbon woke several more times, always babbling about nonsense. The doctor's assuered them that it was completely normal but it didn't stop Jane from worrying; Lisbon couldn't tie her shoelaces at this point let along do her job as a CBI agent. He didn't know what he'd do if he didn't get her properly back.

The team ate lunch together at noon before the other three headed out to assist the local PD with Roy. Cho had received a call informing them that the man had been caught and the team was needed for identification purposes and statements. Jane was wanted as well but he steadfastly refused, insisting that Lisbon would have all of their heads if she were to wake up with none of them anywhere in sight.

As it was Jane was on a washroom run when she finally woke up coherent, and he had walked back into her room, whistling happily to himself, to be greeted with the sight of her trying rather awkwardly to sit herself up. He rushed forward to assist her, smiling when she sent him a trademark glare.

"And how are you, Lisbon? Back to your old self again?"

"Just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you've been up a couple times, but-"

"Jane," she cut him off and he abruptly fell silent at the look of confusion on her face, "Did I throw up in front of you?"

He frowned at her, "Uh, yeah, but-"

"Oh. Because I think that I'm going to again."

The colour drained from her face and Jane thrust the silver pan in front of her just in the nick of time. She heaved until she couldn't anymore, Jane holding her hair and rubbing her back once he'd gotten her trembling hands to hold the container. She collapsed back against the pillows he'd stacked up at some point when she was done, shaking and sweating slightly. She felt him remove the bucket from her limp fingers swiftly and just as quickly a damp cloth had wiped across her mouth and another was placed upon her forehead. She sighed in relief.

"Best to get it all out of your system," Jane piped, _far_ too cheerily for Lisbon's liking, "Feel any better?"

She didn't bother opening her eyes to glare but tried for her best growl all the same, "No."

"You will. One fish, two fish, red fish..."

She cracked open one eye to look at him, "Blue fish?"

He clapped his hands together, "Excellent. You've clearly not lost any of your mental capacity."

"Because I remember Dr Seuss?"

"Yes," he replied, happiness reaching his eyes and threatening to spill over, "Because you remember Dr Seuss."

Lisbon was released from hospital by dinner that night due in part to her stubbornness but mostly because she indulged in Jane for once and allowed him to work his magic on the doctors. She let him lead her out to the car and settle her into the front seat, sighing tiredly while she sank into the fabric. Thank god he'd brought her nice, big SUV and not his silly little contraption.

"Let's go home, Jane."

_There you are: today as promised. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out and hopefully you all are too! Should be just one more chapter; epilogue-ish I guess. I'm aiming to have it up within the week but it's all weather-dependent. That and I work a 130am shift tomorrow, have a date Wednesday, and a friend who's visiting one last time before he's getting deployed. Busy, busy as usual, haha. _

_Thanks again for your stellar reviews. I always love to hear from you!_

_Ciao, Moksgmol_


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